Pay-TV in 50% of Asian homes

The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) has revealed that pay-TV in Asia has reached the tipping point of 50 per cent penetration of all Asian TV homes. This development opens the door to massive growth in ad revenues over the next five years. According to Asia Pacific pay-TV industry research carried out by CASBAA, pay-TV services now connect with almost 363 million homes in Asia, massively surpassing North America where pay-TV reaches 121 million.

Pay-TV penetration varies dramatically across the region. South Korea, with a penetration rate of 99 per cent has the highest penetration while Indonesia with penetration of 3 per cent of TV homes has the lowest. Growth in the pay-TV industry is primarily driven by India (75 per cent penetration of all TV homes) and China (48 per cent) but Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam are contributing significantly to this growth.

Nevertheless, in terms of revenues earned, pay-TV in Asia continues to lag behind North America and Western Europe in both penetration and revenues. According to data firm SNL Kagan, in North America, pay-TV reaches 87.7 per cent of households and generated $102.50 billion in revenues in 2010, while Western Europe enjoys penetration of 61.9 per cent and revenues of $41.04 billion. In 2010 pay-TV in Asia will generate a little over $30 billion from its 50 per cent penetration rate.

“Asia now leads the world in multichannel TV connections, with growth only expected to accelerate. With more than 50 per cent penetration across the region and the lion’s share of the high net worth audience, subscription TV is more attractive than ever to subscribers, advertisers and investors,” said Simon Twiston Davies, CEO of CASBAA